Ferrari tops Friday practice sessions

The fourth round of the 2017 FIA Formula One World Championship began with practice Friday at the Sochi Autodrom, as teams prepared for the Russian Grand Prix on Sunday. The fastest times in both FP1 and FP2 were set by Scuderia Ferrari drivers.

Leading the way in FP1 was Kimi Räikkönen, whose fast lap of 1:36.074 was .045 of a second better than the next quickest driver, Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas. Räikkönen’s quick lap was .737 of a second off the all-time fastest lap at the Sochi Autodrom – a 1:35.337 set by Nico Rosberg in his Mercedes during qualifying for last year’s Russian GP.

That record ultimately fell in FP2 as the grip level increased and the pace quickened, due in large part to teams switching to the Purple ultrasoft tire, the grippiest compound in Pirelli’s lineup.

First free practice results:

1.

K. Raikkonen

Ferrari

01:36.074

2.

V. Bottas

Mercedes

01:36.119

3.

L. Hamilton

Mercedes

01:36.681

4.

M. Verstappen

Red Bull

01:37.174

5.

S. Vettel

Ferrari

01:37.230

6.

D. Ricciardo

Red Bull

01:37.290

7.

S. Perez

Force India

01:37.457

8.

F. Massa

Williams

01:37.900

9.

L. Stroll

Williams

01:37.944

10.

E. Ocon

Force India

01:38.065

11.

D. Kvyat

Toro Rosso

01:38.496

12.

K. Magnussen

Haas

01:38.747

13.

F. Alonso

McLaren

01:38.813

14.

C. Sainz Jr.

Toro Rosso

01:38.976

15.

J. Palmer

Renault

01:39.158

16.

R. Grosjean

Haas

01:39.533

17.

S. Vandoorne

McLaren

01:39.541

18.

P. Wehrlein

Sauber

01:39.731

19.

M. Ericsson

Sauber

01:40.079

20.

S. Sirotkin

Renault

no time

Ferrari remained quickest, with Räikkönen’s teammate, Sebastian Vettel, topping FP2 with a 1:34.120, which was .263 of a second faster than Räikkönen and 1.217 seconds faster than the previous track record set by Rosberg.